


Draco Malfoy, Defacto Dad

by draconabraxas



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Big Brother Draco Malfoy, Black Hermione Granger, Creepy Voldemort, Desi Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy Has a Sibling, Draco Malfoy Has a Sister, Draco Malfoy is Clueless About Muggle Things, Draco Malfoy is Not a Death Eater, Draco Malfoy is So Done, Draco Malfoy is a Little Shit, Draco Malfoy-centric, Draco is a momma's boy, Established Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, F/M, Gen, Good Parent Narcissa Black Malfoy, Harry Potter Thinks Draco Malfoy is Up to Something, Hogwarts Fifth Year, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Lucius Malfoy Being an Asshole, Lucius Malfoy's A+ Parenting, M/M, Molly Weasley is like Draco's other mom, Morally Grey Draco Malfoy, Morally Grey Order of the Phoenix, POV Draco Malfoy, Possessive Voldemort (Harry Potter), Protective Draco Malfoy, Redeemed Draco Malfoy, Sassy Draco Malfoy, Slow Burn Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Smart Draco Malfoy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:27:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27173825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/draconabraxas/pseuds/draconabraxas
Summary: Draco Malfoy fled for many reasons. One, he didn't want the dark mark (he wasn't too into tattoos. Wasn't his aesthetic). Two, he wasn't too fond of torturing and murdering people (now, sassing people and hurting them with harsh words— that was his forte). Three, the Dark Lord was a creep (he's way too pervy! Plus, he's old and looks like a lizard. Gross).Fourth, and the most important reason, Draco Malfoy fled because he wanted to get his one-year-old sister as far away from the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters as possible.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 129
Kudos: 396





	1. On the Run

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [I Slipped, I Stumbled, I Fell](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21281591) by [StarChaser93](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarChaser93/pseuds/StarChaser93). 



> I was 100% inspired by StarChaser93's fanfiction "I Slipped, I Stumbled, I Fell". I thought the concept of Draco running away and having to care for a younger sibling was super interesting and wanted to write my own take on it! Please check out their story! It is SO GOOD!
> 
> DISCLAIMER: if you support JK Rowling's views on trans people and trans rights, please stop reading! Bigotry has no place here.

In hindsight, Draco probably should have ate dinner before he decided to drop everything and run. If he knew that his stomach would be growling throughout his entire journey from Wiltshire to Muggle London, Draco would've shoved a whole baguette down his throat before heading out. The fifteen-year-old had been walking for almost twelve hours straight with no food in his stomach, a bag full of bare necessities on his back, and a one-year-old child in his arms.

_Shit! I need to feed Estella!_

Draco forgot about his hunger pains and stared in horror at the sleeping girl in his arms. The blond observed his surroundings and saw that the never ending road was still vacant besides him and his sister. He stopped walking, sat down on the grass next to the pavement, and put Estella down on the grass in front of him. "Estella," Draco said, gently poking her round cheeks. "Estella, wake up," the baby made a noise before slowly opening her eyes. Draco stared into the girl's silver eyes and internally prayed that she wouldn't throw a fit. Thankfully, the toddler remained calm and babbled a few words in baby talk while reaching her arms out to her older brother. "Ba ba ba to you too," Draco murmured with a small smile on his face. The Slytherin placed the dark green backpack in front of him and peered inside. The bag was packed in haste and the interior looked like it; baby clothes and diapers were littered across the bag with no sense of organization. The bag was mainly filled with supplies for Estella, meanwhile Draco only packed an extra pair of undergarments, his favorite potions book, and a dragon plushie from his childhood. The blonde had a feeling that he wasn't going to return home in a very long time and packed accordingly... which meant packing a stuffed animal. Draco would never admit this to anyone but his dragon plushie, Fafnir, meant too much to him and he didn't have it in him to abandon the orange creature in the darkness of the Manor. 

Draco reached into the bag and tried to find the little food he did pack. "Merlin, where is it?" Draco let out a huff of frustration and continued to push the contents of the bag around in search for food. _The bag is so disorganized! There is no way I'm going to find-_ "Oh thank Merlin! There it is!" Draco tore his arm out of the bag with a bruised banana in the palm of his hand. He peeled the banana and broke off a small piece, "Look what I have, Stella! Breakfast!" 

As Draco fed his sister the banana, he thought back to the events leading up to his and his sister's escape. After the Dark Lord's resurrection, life had gone downhill for Draco. While the Dark Lord and his followers haven't officially moved into the Manor, they might as well have since they were visiting the mansion on an almost daily basis. The Death Eaters never dared to touch Draco due to his father's standing but that didn't stop them from making comments that made Draco very uncomfortable. Fenrir Greyback, while not a Death Eater, constantly made statements about how good Draco smelled and Amycus Carrow also made gross remarks about how he imagined running his hands through Draco's pale locks. However, nothing was worse than the Dark Lord's appraisals.

While Lucius Malfoy being part of the Dark Lord's inner circle had some perks, it mostly came with disadvantages. For one, being the sole son of a prominent figure in the Dark Lord's army meant that Draco received more attention from the Dark Lord than he was comfortable with. The Dark Lord had a perverted interest in Draco. Whenever the man was over, he would always call the blonde to the study for a 'talk'. These 'talks' consisted of the Dark Lord leering at the teenager while stroking the head of his pet snake Nagini. Contrary to the name of their meetings, not many words were spoken during these 'talks', but when words were spoken, they mirrored the perverted remarks Carrow and Greyback also gave Draco. However, unlike the other two men, the Dark Lord was flamboyantly vulgar and straight to the point ("I missed having a physical form, little dragon," the Dark Lord once said in a soft tone. "Now, I can appreciate beautiful creatures such as yourself... both visually and physically," Draco's face flushed in mortification at the statement. The Dark Lord smirked as he saw Draco's blush and misinterpreted it as a pleasured response to his perverted implication. "When you receive your dark mark, pretty dragon, I will also gift you with pleasure. A true testament to your evolution into adulthood," Draco didn't bother correcting the older man that he still wouldn't be of age at the time of his scheduled recruitment. Instead, Draco focused on pushing the bile that was quickly building up in his throat down).

The second disadvantage was that the Dark Lord had been constantly pressuring Draco's father into allowing the fifteen-year-old to join his ranks. Draco managed to bully his father into asking the Dark Lord to push his recruitment date back; to Draco’s and Lucius’ surprise, the elder Malfoy somehow convinced the crazed man into giving Draco the dark mark next summer— the summer after his fifth year at Hogwarts. To say Draco was not excited would be an understatement. Draco did _not_ want to become a Death Eater. While the young aristocrat agreed with the bases of the ideology (purebloods being superior to mudbloods, muggles being a threat to wizarding society, etcetera), he did not agree with the execution— literally... they literally execute people. Murder, torture, and rape were things that Draco, like any normal functioning human being, looked down upon. Unfortunately, his father, his aunt Bellatrix, and his uncle Rodolphus did not share similar sentiments. Draco shivered as he thought about the screams he heard from the Manor's dungeons just a few days ago. _I am definitely not suited for violence of that sort,_ Draco thought to himself as he watched Estella chew messily on a banana chunk, spit escaping her mouth and falling onto her chin.

Estella... she was the main reason why Draco fled. If Estella wasn't there, the teenager wouldn't have even entertained the thought of abandoning his mother like this. However, Draco felt like he had no choice but to run. The girl was only twelve months old— she was born in the month prior to the Quidditch World Cup. The toddler was so tiny and vulnerable... she had no place being near monsters like Greyback or the Carrows (or even his own father, aunt, uncle, or especially the Dark Lord... but Draco would never say that traitorous thought out loud lest he be put under the Cruciatus Curse for the rest of his life).

Leaving the Manor wasn't entirely Draco's idea, though. The blonde had been playing with the idea of escaping for the entirety of July, however, the plan didn't actually come to fruition until Professor Snape got involved. During one of Snape's many visits, Draco let it slip that the Dark Lord had debauched plans for the boy and would constantly make perverted remarks about him. Snape's reaction would've been hilarious if not for the context; Draco had never seen the greasy man's face move in such an expressive manner before ("He said _what_?" Snape exclaimed, horrified. Draco timidly summarized the words the Dark Lord said to him during their last meeting— that the Dark Lord for all intents and purposes wanted to fuck him. Snape's usually grey-toned face morphed into a sickly green. His reaction was alarming, to say the least. But at least Draco knew that one male adult figure in his life had his head screwed on straight. When the teenager confided in his father about the same issue, his father was elated and said that this was a 'fantastic opportunity' for Draco. _Right_ , because sleeping with the lizard man would look _great_ on his future resume). A few days after disclosing this information to his potions professor, Snape gave Draco a slip of paper with ink that was charmed to only be seen by the teen and him alone. The paper read "12 Grimmauld Place, Borough of Islington, London. Muggle area. Travel by muggle means. Don't use magic until you arrive— your wand will be tracked." When Draco looked up from the slip and opened his mouth to question it, Snape shushed him and simply told Draco to trust him. And trust him, Draco did. That very night, Draco hastily packed his and Estella's things and fled from the Manor, leaving a single note for his mother explaining why he left; including the perverted comments and excluding the person who helped him leave.

When Draco left the Manor, it was midnight and now, it was the afternoon. He had been walking for around twelve or thirteen hours at this point and scarcely knew if he was going in the right direction. He only knew that this road led to London because a nice muggle in a muggle monster contraption told him so. That same muggle also offered to take Draco there but the blonde politely declined. As if he was going to step foot in that metal creature. Half a day into the journey and Draco was beginning to regret that decision. He was exhausted, hungry, and in so much pain. His legs were beginning to cramp and his arms hurt from holding Estella for so long. As for Estella, Draco had to change her nappy six times since leaving the Malfoy Manor and felt guilty about leaving the dirty diapers on the grass before moving on with his journey. Draco didn't want to carry those stinky things with him but he also didn't want to taint the earth with them too. The blonde just wished he could vanish them away but he didn't want to risk Death Eaters finding him. 

Draco was lost in his thoughts as he fed both Estella and himself the banana. It was when the two were half-way through the fruit, that Draco heard it— another muggle monster contraption coming his way. Draco grabbed Estella and held her close to his chest as the creature slowed down to a stop in front of the pair. 

"Are you two okay?" The muggle woman in the metal appliance asked. "Do you two need a ride?"

Draco pondered over the question for a moment. _Be fed to the metallic monster or walk for another twelve hours?_ Draco thought, weighing the two options in his head. _Sit next to the muggle for who knows how long and potentially be harmed by her or pass out from exhaustion and be caught by Death Eaters?_ Draco nodded to himself as he came to a conclusion. _I'd rather be eaten alive by her pet monster than be fondled by the Dark Lord._

"We'd like a ride, if you'll have us!"

* * *

"Where are you two traveling from?" The brown haired muggle woman inquired after Draco told her an edited version of his actual destination. When Draco tried telling the woman the address on the note, he found himself physically unable to do it. Instead, the blonde told the muggle that he wanted to go to 13 Grimmauld Place instead. Draco assumed the place must’ve been under the Fidelius Charm and that Snape must’ve been the Secret Keeper. This knowledge made the teen feel a lot more secure about the place he was heading to; at least now Draco knew that the Dark Lord wouldn’t be able to find him.

Apparently, the muggle woman was also heading to London and knew where the neighborhood on the paper was. Draco sat with Estella in his lap and his backpack on his feet in the seat next the muggle woman. The muggle woman had her hands on the wheel and was constantly shifting her eyes off the road and onto the Malfoy siblings.

"Wiltshire."

"Wiltshire?!" The woman exasperated, her brown eyes wide in shock. "You're telling me that you and the little one walked all this way from Wiltshire?" Draco nodded in response and the muggle woman frowned. "It might be too personal to ask but are you two running away from a dangerous situation? If so, I can contact the police-"

"The question is too personal, miss," Draco interrupted as he held Estella closer to his chest. The toddler made a noise and cuddled closer to Draco, causing the teenager to smile softly. The muggle woman watched the exchange before turning her eyes back to the road. 

"If I can't help you two in that regard," the woman said before taking one hand off the wheel, grabbing a water bottle from the cup holder next to her, and handing it to Draco. "At least let me offer you two some water. You must be parched from your journey!"

Draco hesitantly took the bottle from the woman's hand. "Thank you, miss. You're too kind."

"Oh, it's no problem, really. I just want you two to be safe and healthy. I have children at home, you see, and I can't imagine them traveling the distances you two have on your own!"

After that statement, the woman continued talking about her children, filling the muggle monster contraption with stories of warmth and love. Draco tried to listen as she spoke but slowly found himself falling asleep to the woman's comforting voice. His last thought before dozing off was of his own mother and how if this muggle woman thought of her own children this much in their absence, then his mother must be having a nervous breakdown with him and Estella gone. _I'm sorry, mother._

* * *

"Wake up, dear!"

The Slytherin jolted awake, shaking Estella and causing her to arouse with his abrupt movement. The toddler began to cry and both Draco and the muggle woman cooed at her. Draco held the blonde baby close to his chest as he whispered words to comfort into her ear. Once the baby finally calmed down, Draco looked up to see that the metallic creature had stopped moving. "How long was I asleep for?"

"About an hour," the muggle answered. "We're at your destination," the woman said with a small smile. Draco's eyes widened as he looked out the window to see a row of houses in front of him. The blonde then turned to the muggle woman who helped him get there.

"Thank you..." Draco's thanks trailed off as he realized he never got the woman's name.

The woman seemed to realize the teen's issue and answered the boy's unasked question. "My name is Abra. And you and your sister?"

"Draco and Estella."

The woman, Abra, as Draco now knew, raised her eyebrows at his answer. "Those are quite unique names. Your mother a fan of the stars?"

Draco smiled sadly as he thought of his mother. "Yes, miss. She is."

Abra smiled back before saying her farewells to the pair and wishing them a healthy life. Draco said goodbye back and thanked her for her generosity again before swinging his backpack over his shoulder and leaving the muggle invention. _Maybe muggles aren't that bad after all,_ Draco thought as the woman drove away. _They aren't as powerful as wizards, of course, but they can't be all evil when Abra exists._

Draco didn't move until he saw the metal monster leave his sight. Once the contraption was gone, Draco pulled out the slip of paper and read the address again. _12 Grimmauld Place,_ Draco thought as he looked back up at the houses in front of him. _But there's only 11 and 13 here._ Just as Draco thought that, 11 and 13 Grimmauld Place began to move away from each other as another building took up the space in between them. The building was of a darker hue than the two buildings beside it and read 12 Grimmauld Place on a metal plate next to the door. Draco slowly walked up the worn out front steps while Estella fidgeted in his arms. The Slytherin eyed the door to see nothing but a silver knocker in the shape of twisted serpent. 

_Well... here goes nothing!_

Draco lifted the knocker and slammed it down hard against the door. The blonde didn't even wait a minute before the front door swung open to reveal his fugitive cousin, Sirius Black, pointing a wand at him and his sister.

"Hello, cousin. My sister and I are seeking refuge from the Dark Lord. Would you put your wand down and let us in?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The name Estella is Latin for "star." I was considering naming her Lyra because I know there's a constellation called Lyra. I also considered Cordelia and Aurora because they're moons but I decided on Estella because I thought the name was super pretty!
> 
> The name Abra is Hebrew for "mother of many." I thought the name would be suiting considering how motherly and caring she was towards Draco and Estella!!
> 
> I think I should have the next chapter up by next week but we shall see! I also have another Draco-centric fanfic I'm currently working on (it's about Draco being a seer! Check it out!) and I need to figure out my writing schedule.
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


	2. Malfoy??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDITED SCENES IN THE FIRST CHAPTER: I made a few edits in the first chapter! I added a portion about Draco being unable to tell Abra the address and figuring out that 12 Grimmauld Place was under the Fidelius Charm. That is a vital edit that I totally forgot to include originally! I also added a small detail about Draco bullying his dad into asking Voldemort to hold off on Draco's recruitment. I mainly added this to emphasize that Lucius didn't ask Voldemort out of concern for Draco but rather because Draco nagged him. Not super important to the general plot but it's important for setting up Lucius' character in this fanfic!
> 
> Also, thank you guys for the nice comments!! They motivate me to write more and they make me feel so fuzzy inside omg. I was planning on having this chapter finished by the weekend but finished it days earlier than I anticipated! Thank you guys for giving this fic love!!! It really helped my writing process!! I love hearing your thoughts and theories about the plot!!

_”Where is he!?” Harry bellowed, his angry voice echoing off the walls of the Malfoy Manor's dining room. Harry had never felt this furious before. He could hear his heart beating rapidly and could feel his blood boiling. His jaw was clenched so tight that it hurt. He felt hot all over as he glowered at the frightened and worried Malfoy elders in front of him._

_”I-I do not know, my Lord,” the Malfoy patriarch stammered. “By t-the time Cissy and I w-woke up this morning, Draco and Estella w-were already g-g-gone.”_

_That last part peaked Harry’s interest. “Draco_ and _Estella are missing?” Harry asked. Both of the Malfoy parents nodded frantically in response— Lucius looking afraid due to Harry's anger and Narcissa looking particularly distraught at the fact that both of her babes were missing. “Did Draco leave any hints of whether his disappearance was of his own doing?”_

_”His own—?” Lucius exclaimed, looking quite affronted. “Pardon my tone, my Lord. But are you implying that my son is a traitor?”_

_Harry felt another wave of rage sweep through him as he contemplated the concept of his sweet, beautiful, ethereal dragon betraying him in any way. Harry sneered at the Malfoy couple and then nodded. “Yes, Lucius. That is exactly what I am implying.”_

_There was a silence as the two Malfoys stared anywhere in the room but at him. Harry observed the aristocrats with an air of suspicion— Harry knew that if Draco willingly escaped, one of his parents had to have known about it beforehand or at minimum, immediately afterwards. A whole minute passed before anyone spoke; the person who broke the silence was none other than Narcissa Malfoy née Black. The blonde woman stepped forward and raised her eyes to look straight into Harry's._

_"Draco left me a note, my Lord."_

_Lucius let out a strangled gasp, "Narcissa! Why didn't you inform me of-"_

_"I didn't want to betray our son's privacy, Lucius," Narcissa interrupted. The aristocratic woman looked miffed from her husband's reaction. "I'm speaking of the note now because our Lord is under the impression that our son is a blood traitor when that is_ not _the case."_

_"It's not?" Harry questioned with a raised brow. "May I see this note you speak of?"_

_Narcissa shook her head. "No, my Lord. The paper was charmed to be set aflame after it's intended reader read the note."_

_"The pretty dragon went through quite the lengths to have the contents of that letter hidden, Narcissa."_

_If Harry's nickname for Draco disgusted Narcissa, she didn't show it. Instead, she continued talking, "He did want to hide the contents, my Lord. But the contents of that letter were not traitorous at all."_

_Harry raised his eyebrows, "Well? Tell me what the note said."_

_Narcissa inhaled deeply before talking again. "Draco said that he felt unsafe at the Manor, my Lord. Apparently, some of the Death Eaters who have been frequenting the Manor have threatened my son with sexual violence."_

_The rage was back. Harry felt his body heat rise as he thought about his little dragon being touched by another. Lucius seemed to misinterpret Harry's anger towards the Death Eaters in question for him being angry at Draco and said, "M-my Lord. We apologize greatly for our son's weakness-"_

_"Don't." T_ _he word was loud, harsh, and demanding. The Malfoy patriarch immediately stopped talking and stared at Harry in poorly disguised horror. Harry felt his body shaking in fury as he turned towards Narcissa and asked, "who threatened_ my _dragon?"_

_Narcissa frowned before answering, "Fenrir Greyback and Amycus Carrow, my Lord."_

_"Do not fret, Narcissa," Harry said with a vicious smirk. "I will take care of these two. In the meantime, try finding the children and bringing them back home. The Manor will be safe, I will make sure of it."_

* * *

Harry woke up with a start. The olive skinned boy had sweat dripping down the sides of his face and his chest was heaving aggressively. Harry's eyebrows furrowed as his head began to throb in pain; he clutched his head with his two hands and sat up in the bed. Before Harry could calm down, the door to the room swung open revealing a dark-skinned girl with frizzy dark curls bouncing with her every move— Hermione Granger, one of Harry's best friends. 

"Harry! You need to wake up. It's past noon-" Hermione said before stopping herself abruptly once she got a good look at Harry. "Oh my god, Harry! Are you okay?" Hermione ran to the bed and bent over to fret over the boy. She placed her hand on Harry's forehead, feeling the intense heat of Harry's skin against the palm of her hand. "Are you feeling sick? Your forehead-"

"I'm fine, Mione," Harry said, grabbing the girl's wrist and gently moving her hand away from his face. Harry then grabbed his glasses from the bedside table and placed them on his damp face. "Just a dream, that's all."

Hermione had an inquisitive look on her face as she backed away from the sweaty boy and stood up straight. "A dream? Was it a nightmare?"

"Yes- actually no," Harry contradicted himself. His eyebrows furrowed again as he thought of the odd dream he had. "I honestly haven't got the faintest clue. It was just weird."

"What was it about?"

Harry gave Hermione a mystified look. "That's the thing. I have no idea."

"You mean you don't remember?" The dark-skinned girl guessed.

Harry shook his head. "No. I remember... It's just that-" Harry stopped himself mid-sentence and then started again, "Okay, for some reason, I dreamt of Malfoy's parents."

Hermione's eyes went wide in bewilderment. " _Malfoy?_ As in Draco 'I hate mudbloods because I'm second to one in class' Malfoy?" Hermione said in a mocking tone. Harry let out a loud laugh and threw a pillow at the girl.

"Hermione! You shouldn't call yourself that!" Harry tried to chastise the girl but couldn't stop laughing at her snipe towards the bratty Slytherin.

Hermione shrugged with a smile on her face, "I'm just joking, Harry. And besides, I'm allowed to call myself that. It's slur against me, so I'll use the word as I please!" 

"Do you really think Malfoy is miffed about you being first in class?" Harry asked after his laughter died down. Hermione raised her eyebrows and gave Harry an incredulous look. 

"He most definitely is. The prideful git probably cries himself to sleep over it," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes. The girl then turned back to Harry, the inquisitive look returning to her face. "You still haven't told me about your dream. It was about Malfoy's parents and what else?"

Harry let out a sigh and ran a hand through his tangled black locks, "I don't know. They were saying that Malfoy and some girl named Estella went missing?" Harry recounted as he tried to remember the rest of the dream. Suddenly, Harry remembered the reason Malfoy's mother gave for Malfoy's disappearance and blushed. Hermione, being the observant girl she is, noticed the blush immediately and pounced on it.

"Why are you blushing? Tell me."

"I-I don't know why my mind came up with this-"

"Harry! Just tell me!"

"Okay! It's just-" Harry stopped himself again and bit his lip in embarrassment. "Malfoy's mother said that Malfoy told her that he left because some Death Eaters were... harassing him."

"Harassing?" Hermione questioned, immediately catching on to Harry's vague description. "In what way?"

Harry cheeks flushed again as he looked down at a loose thread on the comforter. The teenaged boy picked at the thread before murmuring, "Like... sexually."

Hermione's eyebrows shot up in shock. "Sexually?"

"Yes. I-I don't know why my brain came up with something so horrid! Especially with someone random like Malfoy! I don't know why I dreamt of him at all!" Harry exclaimed in confusion. Hermione bit her bottom lip and gave Harry a sympathetic look. Harry saw the look on Hermione's face and groaned, "Oh bollocks! Not this again!"

"Harry... as for the entire sexual harassment portion of your dream, I can't be sure. However, I can say for certain that you dreaming of Malfoy makes complete sense-"

"Hermione! For the five hundredth time, I'm not obsessed with him! If anything, the pasty ferret is obsessed with me!"

"Well, of course he's obsessed with you, Harry, but-"

"But nothing!"

"But-"

"I said but nothing!"

"Who's talking about butts?" Harry and Hermione turned their heads towards the door to see Ron and Ginny Weasley standing in the entranceway of the door. Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother's comment before walking into the room and plopping herself down on the rear end of the bed.

"I dunno, Ron. But I know who was thinking about them!" The redheaded girl teased. Ron's face turned a bright red as he started to splutter a response in defense of his honor. However, before he could, a loud clanging bell sound echoed throughout the ancient home. The four teens looked at each other in confusion.

"Was there supposed to be an Order meeting today?" Harry asked the others.

Ron shook his head in denial, "Nah. If there was, mum would've told me to fuck off and twiddle my thumbs for the day."

"Isn't that what you usually do?" Ginny asked, her tone that of feign innocence. Ron gave Ginny the middle finger with one of his hands and Ginny gave him two middle fingers back. 

Hermione rolled her eyes at the exchange. "Can you two be any more childish-"

"HOW THE FUCK DID _YOU_ FIND THIS PLACE?"

* * *

If somebody told Draco a day ago that trusting Snape would lead him to getting his life hexed out of him by _the_ Sirius Black, Draco would've called bullshit. But alas, here he was on the front doorstep of 12 Grimmauld Place with half of a banana in his stomach, a bag full of bare necessities (plus a dragon plushie) on his back, a one-year-old child in his arms, and a crazy git pointing a wand at him.

"I will ask you _one_ more time," Black growled, the aggression in his voice causing Estella to cry out in fear. Draco frowned and held the toddler closer to him as her tears stained his collared shirt. Sirius Black glanced at the baby, his enraged face softening at the mere sight of her. The fugitive then let out a breath of air before continuing, "how did _you_ find this place?" The man asked calmly, albeit strained calmness.

"I was given the location by the Secret Keeper," Draco answered in a soft tone, trying not to distress his baby sister more.

Black rolled his eyes, "No shit, blondie. That's not what I'm asking."

Draco gave the fugitive a look of pure bafflement. "You asked me how I found this building-"

"That's not what I-" Black stopped himself mid-sentence and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down. "Let me rephrase the question for you, little snake. _Why_ would Dumbledore give _a Malfoy_ the location?"

Draco had never felt more lost in his life. "Dumbledore?"

The man looked like he wanted to pummel the blonde's face in after that question. "' _Dumbledore?'_ Yes, Dumbledore! Who else-"

"MALFOY?!"

Draco winced as he heard the screams of his surname. Instead of looking up to see who said his name, the Slytherin quickly glanced down at the toddler in his arm to see her face flushed and scrunched up. She was going to have a fit and Draco knew it was going to be bad. 

"WHY IS MALFOY HERE?!"

"Is that a _baby?_ "

"I think it is, little sister! Ickle Malfoy is a teen dad!"

"I thought fancy purebloods were supposed to keep it in their pants before marriage, Forge!"

"His kind of pureblood do the nasty with their own relatives, Gred. It must be his mother's-"

"Shut it, you two! Must you be so vulgar?"

"When did you two even get here?"

"But Mione! He has a baby!"

"But Mione! He has a baby!"

"Can someone tell me why the ferret is here?"

"Can all of you shut it-"

All of the voices were interrupted by a loud wail. Draco let out a shaky sigh as he held the frightened girl close to his chest and a rubbed a soothing hand down her back. Draco began shushing into the toddler's ear just like his mother did when Estella threw crying fits back at the Manor... but it didn't work. The blonde could feel the stares on him as he attempted to calm Estella down to no avail. She kept sobbing loudly and Draco didn't know what to do.

"What in the seven hells is going on out here?" An older woman exclaimed. Draco looked up to see the Weasley matriarch alongside all of her children that currently went to Hogwarts, Granger, Potter, and Black all staring at him with looks of shock and confusion. The elder woman regained her composure quickly once she saw the toddler crying in Draco's arms. "Oh dear!" the woman cried out before shoving her way past the teenagers to stand next to Black. "Sirius, put your wand down! And all of you stop gawking! Can't you see that you're stressing the poor babe out?" Black begrudgingly put his wand down as the mother Weasley walked over to Draco and held out her arms. "I can take care of the little angel, love. I have quite the experience in this area!" Draco hesitated for a moment handing Estella over. "There! I'll calm the babe down while you head inside. You look exhausted!" 

With that, the Weasley matriarch headed inside with Estella sobbing in her arms. Draco tore his eyes away from the woman and his sister and looked over at the fugitive who was staring at the blonde with an unreadable look on his face. "You heard the woman," Black said roughly, "come inside."

 _Finally,_ Draco thought as he gripped the straps of his backpack and began to head inside. However, before he could, Black slapped his hand down on Draco's left shoulder and glared at him. 

"This doesn't mean our conversation is over, boy. We have a lot to discuss."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not that it's important but this is the order of who spoke during the "WTF MALFOY?!" freak out:
> 
> "MALFOY?!" - Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny  
> "WHY IS MALFOY HERE?!" - Harry  
> "Is that a baby?" - Ginny  
> "I think it is, little sister! Ickle Malfoy is a teen dad!" - Fred  
> "I thought fancy purebloods were supposed to keep it in their pants before marriage, Forge!" - George  
> "His kind of pureblood do the nasty with their own relatives, Gred. It must be his mother's-" - Fred  
> "Shut it, you two! Must you be so vulgar?" - Hermione  
> "When did you two even get here?" - Ginny  
> "But Mione! He has a baby!" - Fred & George together  
> "But Mione! He has a baby!" - Fred & George together  
> "Can someone tell me why the ferret is here?" - Ron  
> "Can all of you shut it-" - Sirius
> 
> I didn't say who said what in the chapter because I wanted to make the scene seem super chaotic LOL! This is technically Draco's POV so he didn't really give a shit who was talking. He was just dreading Estella's fit :(
> 
> ALSO: Should I draw fanart for this fic? Would y'all like that? I'm considering using scenes from this fic to help me practice drawing anatomy LOL! What scenes do you want me to draw? I'm already considering the opening scene of Draco and Estella walking with Draco looking exhausted as fuck lol.


	3. The Interrogation of Draco Malfoy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 100+ kudos with two chapters?! you guys are too nice omg THANK YOU!
> 
> CONTENT WARNING: talks of & references to sexual harassment/pedophilia. I know I made it a tag for the fanfic but its talked about a lot in this chapter and I felt like it deserved a warning.

Uncomfortable didn't even begin to describe how out of sorts Draco felt with his estranged cousin glowering at him from across the table. After the chaos that ensued earlier, Black and the mother Weasley sent Draco's school mates upstairs and forced Draco to give Black his wand and sit alone in the dining room. Well, Draco was alone at first; for a few minutes, Draco sat silently in the dining room whilst Black was off doing who know's what (Draco realizes later that the man was probably calling backup). Eventually, Black entered the room and sat across from Draco with an angry glint in his eye. While the two pureblooded men sat awkwardly at the dining room table, the Weasley matriarch paced in the kitchen, calmly rocking a still agitated Estella in her arms.

The silence was brutal. Draco scratched his cheek awkwardly and stared back at his cousin before saying, "So-"

"Shut it," Black demanded. Draco closed his mouth quickly, his teeth making an audible clacking sound as he did. Black leaned back in his chair and gave Draco an annoyed look. "Just don't talk until they come, all right? Save both of us a headache and just sit pretty while we wait." Draco grimaced at the word 'pretty', the word bringing back uncomfortable memories about a certain perverted Dark Lord. 

The two sat in a mutual silence for a few minutes before the mother Weasley walked into the room without Estella in her arms and a glass of water in her hands. "Malfoy, dear," the woman started, grabbing both men's attention, "the babe is sleeping. I conjured a cot and put her in there," Draco nodded, a wave of relief splashing through him as he thought of his sister being calm again. The Weasley then walked closer to the blonde and placed the glass of water in front of him. Draco looked up at the woman, raising a single eyebrow in question. "You look exhausted, child. I don't know how long you've been traveling but I know you must be parched," she said, answering his unasked question. She then walked to the other side of the table and sat next to Black.

Draco looked down at the glass of water and then back up at the Weasley matriarch who had a worried look etched onto her plump face. _She took care of my sister and seems genuinely concerned for my well-being even though our families hate each other,_ Draco thought as he peered down at the glass again. _She probably didn't poison this water.... right? It's probably safe to drink._ Coming to a conclusion, Draco lifted the glass to his mouth and took a large gulp of water. _Damn, that feels good. I didn't even realize how thirsty I was until now._ Draco finished the entire glass in under a minute, disregarding any sense of decorum Draco still had in his exhausted state. When he placed the glass down onto the table, he glanced back up to see the two adults staring at him with astonished looks on their faces.

"Want another glass?" The Weasley matriarch asked. 

Draco nodded, "Yes, please." 

As the redheaded woman spelled more water into the glass with a simple Aguamenti charm, Draco heard the sound of somebody being flooed in, then the sound of somebody arriving with a portkey, and then the sound of multiple people walking towards the dining room. One by one, multiple people piled into the dining room— some of which Draco did recognize, some of which he didn't. Draco watched carefully as the Weasley patriarch, professor McGonagall, two of his old DADA professors (the werewolf and unfortunately, Mad-Eye-Moody), and two people in Auror uniforms (one with purple hair who looked oddly familiar and a tall dark-skinned man who Draco had never seen before in his entire life) sat down at the table. None of them sat next to Draco and instead, stared at the teen with guarded looks from across the table. _Ah... so, this is what an interrogation feels like_ _._

"Albus couldn't make it, unfortunately," McGonagall said. Black rolled his eyes at that statement.

"Would've made things a hell of a lot simpler if his croaking old arse was here," Black muttered in annoyance.

McGonagall glared at the fugitive. "Mind your tongue, Sirius," the professor threatened. The old woman stopped glaring and then let out a soft sigh. "However, you are right. Malfoy's appearance would be easier to explain with him here. Merlin, what was going through that man's mind?"

"Lemon drops?" The purple haired Auror joked, causing multiple people to chuckle in response. 

Suddenly, a fist slammed down onto the table, causing Draco to jump in his seat. "Jokes can be exchanged later," Moody exclaimed, leaving his fist on the table. "We have company, remember?" 

The rest of the adults nodded in response while the male Auror next to Black sat up straight in his seat and looked straight at the blonde teenager. Draco stared back as he waited for the older man to start tossing questions his way. 

"What is your name?"

Draco rolled his eyes at the question. "Draco Lucius Malfoy."

"What is your age?"

"I'm fifteen and I'm going to be a fifth year at Hogwarts."

"Who is the toddler you arrived with?"

"My one-year-old sister, Estella." That answer caused many people's eyebrows to raise.

"I wasn't aware the Malfoys had another child," the Auror said, curiosity gleaming in his eyes. 

Draco shrugged. "Not many do. Stella hasn't been formally introduced to the public yet."

The Auror nodded before continuing, "Do your parents know of your disappearance?"

"They probably do now."

"Let me rephrase the question. Did your parents help you disappear?"

"No, sir. This was my own doing."

The dark-skinned man placed his elbows on the table and leaned forward. "You must've gotten help or else you wouldn't have found this place, Malfoy. Who helped you?"

Draco hesitated before answering, "Professor Snape," this answer caused Black and the werewolf to exchange a meaningful look over the male Auror's head, though what the look meant, the teenage aristocrat couldn't tell. Draco gulped before continuing, "I confided in him about... things that were worrying me and he told me to trust him and then handed me a note with this address on it."

This statement caused many of the adults to share looks with each other. The Auror kept his eyes on Draco and said, "that's all he did? He didn't tell you anything else?"

"No," Draco said with a shake of his head. 

"May I see this note?"

"It's charmed in a way that only I-"

"-can see it. We know," the Auror interrupted, finishing the blonde's sentence. Draco let out a sigh before reaching into his pocket, pulling the paper out, and handing the paper over to the man questioning him. The man handed the paper over to McGonagall and the woman flicked her wand over the slip. 

McGonagall nodded before returning the slip back to the Auror, "This is Albus' doing."

Black rolled his eyes, "No shit. That's how the Fidelius Charm works."

The werewolf let out a tired sigh. "Padfoot-"

"Moony, listen. We know how the brat found us! What we need to know is _why-_ "

"Wait," Draco interrupted, his face scrunched up in confusion. The blonde was watching the exchange between the adults, getting more and more confused with every sentence spoken. _Why are they talking like-_ "Is Snape not the Secret Keeper?"

There was a moment of silence. Then another. And then another. And then-

"HA!" Black gave a deep throaty laugh and then slowly, Lupin, the Weasley patriarch, and the purple haired girl began laughing too. Draco watched as half of the adults laughed and the other half gave each other looks of exasperation. " _Snivellus?_ The Secret Keeper?! _Please!"_ Black clutched his stomach as he continued to laugh uncontrollably.

"Can you imagine?" The male Weasley laughed, wiping tears from his eyes. His wife smacked him and gave her husband a frown.

"Arthur, can you act like an adult? Actually, can all of you act like adults?"

"Molly, I'm so sorry," the purple haired Auror said, her voice shaking with poorly restrained laughter. "But _come on_ _!_ You have to admit it's funny!"

"Funny?" Black questioned with a laugh. "Dora, that-"

"Don't call me that!"

"-was _hysterical!_ That made my day!" Black let out a happy sigh and looked over at the smiling werewolf a few seats away from him. "The day we let Snape be the Secret Keeper is the day Remus becomes the top in our relationship."

If Draco hadn't trained himself to keep vomit down after every instance of the Dark Lord's 'flirting', the blonde would have projectile vomited all over the dining room table. Apparently, he was not alone in his disgust. The purple haired girl wasn't purple haired anymore; with a look of revulsion and a groan of disgust, the girl who Draco now knew as Dora turned her hair bright green. Both Weasley's turned red and covered their faces with their hands. McGonagall looked as though she had never been more disappointed in someone in her entire life. The Auror who had been questioning him looked like he was one minute away from apparating out of the room. And then Mad-Eye-Moody looked like he was about to pummel Black's face in. However, no one's reaction was as interesting as Lupin's— his face was bright red in embarrassment and had his eyes glued to the table in front of him.

It was then that Draco remembered what exactly he said that caused the scene taking place before him. "So," Draco started, causing everyone to whip their heads in his direction. "Professor Snape isn't the Secret Keeper. So, who is?" Draco had to admit... he was a bit pissed off. If Snape wasn't the Secret Keeper, that means that the man spilled Draco's secret to some random person without Draco's consent. The blonde confided in the greasy man because he trusted him. Draco came all this way because he trusted him. Draco is now being interrogated by a bunch of weirdos because he trusted him! And for what? For the man to spread Draco's misfortunes around like its daily gossip?

"We are asking the questions here, boy!" Moody screeched. Draco rolled his eyes at the angry man and thought back to what McGonagall said about the note. _She said that the note was-_

"It's Dumbledore, isn't it?"

All of the adults stared at Draco with mixed expressions on their faces. While the others looked a little annoyed and surprised, Moody looked downright homicidal.

" _That_ is none of _your_ business!" Moody growled. "Shacklebolt, continue the questioning _now._ "

The dark-skinned Auror who Draco now knew as Shacklebolt nodded, took a moment to gather his thoughts, and then began talking again. "You said earlier that you confided in Snape over things that were worrying you, yes?" Draco nodded, not liking where this line of questioning was going. "What was worrying you?"

Draco gulped nervously. How can he even answer this? He can't say anything truthful without incriminating his parents and admitting he's gone traitor. And Draco would rather drop dead than discuss the Dark Lord's perverted interest in him. Maybe he could just lie-

"The Dark Lord and his followers visit the Manor on an almost daily basis," Draco found himself saying. His grey eyes widened in shock as he heard himself expose the truth of his situation. The blonde tried to stop himself from continuing but wasn't able to. "I feared for mine and Estella's lives because of how violent they were," Draco said as tears of frustration started to well up in his eyes. "They scare me." The blonde forced himself to finished with a whisper, his voice shaking as it did. All of the adults minus Black, Shacklebolt, and Moody stared at Draco with looks of sympathy. Black and Moody looked intrigued, meanwhile Shacklebolt looked as stiff and professional as he did prior to the aristocrat's answer.

"Is there any other reason that you haven't told us?"

Draco shivered as he heard himself answer against his will, "Yes."

"What is it?"

_No. No. No. No. No! No! No! No!_

Draco's entire body was shaking now. Tears streamed down his face as he heard himself answer again against his will, "The Dark Lord desired me," Draco started, causing everyone at the table to visibly react with widened eyes and audible gasps. "Sexually. He-" Draco covered his mouth with his hands to stop himself from talking.

The ever stoic Shacklebolt even looked shaken as he audibly gulped and leaned towards the shaking teen. "Malfoy, did You-Know-Who touch you?"

Draco shook his head violently as he took his hands off of his mouth. "Gods, no. I got out of there before he could," Draco said. He then felt the push to say more and tried to hold it back but- "but... he would say things. About me. And how he wanted to do things to me. And how he thought I was pretty. And how-" The blonde let out a shriek of frustration before aggressively biting down onto his bottom lip, breaking the supple skin and causing his lip to start bleeding. "What is this? Did you slip me Veritaserum or something?"

There was a silence. The towheaded teen glanced up to see Molly Weasley adorning a guilty look on her face. Draco slowly looked down at the glass of water in front of him with a look of realization on his face. _So much for her being concerned..._

"I'm done answering questions," Draco tried to sound firm but his voice came out pathetic and shaky.

Any shock or horror that was in Moody's eyes vanished after Draco said this. The old man scowled, "You're done when we say you're done-"

"I think that's quite enough," McGonagall said. "The boy has gone through quite the ordeal and has told us enough."

Draco was too busy trying to calm himself down to pay attention to the adults across the table as they all whispered among themselves and slowly left the room one by one. By the time Draco gathered his wits together, the room was completely vacant besides the Weasley matriarch sitting directly across from him. Her round face was marred with a look of guilt and concern. Draco sniffed and glanced around the empty dining room. "Where did they all go?"

"They left to discuss your situation," the redheaded woman replied. _They left to figure out where they want to dump me,_ Draco translated in his head. The witch looked at Draco with a frown and continued, "I'm sorry, dear. A child your age shouldn't be under Veritaserum... it's not right-"

"I understand why you did it," Draco responded quietly. The blonde really _did_ understand why she did it... even though he wasn't exactly happy that it happened to him. If he was in the Weasley woman's shoes, he would've done the same thing; if (Merlin forbid) Ron Weasley showed up to the Manor with a babe in his arms, he would want to slip the weasel some Veritaserum too. 

Molly Weasley studied Draco with her warm brown eyes. "I'm sure you do," the woman finally said. "My family comes first, as does yours to you, I'm sure," Draco nodded in agreement. "But... you're still a child. And I can tell that you're a caring person beneath all of that pure-blooded snobbery-" Draco gave the woman an affronted look after that statement. "Don't look at me like that! I don't know you, Draco Malfoy, but I do know _of_ you. And I know your parents, as well. Your lot looks down on- oh, that is besides the point! My point is that you are here not only because you are scared of _him_ but because you care for your sister. Am I wrong?" Draco frowned at the woman's critical statements about his family but shook his head in response anyway. "That's what I thought," the redheaded mother then shook her head in exasperation. "You ran all this way knowing full well that you would have to care for a toddler alone and at your age no less. It's commendable, honestly. I can't imagine my boys or even my Ginny caring for a toddler. Maybe Charlie or Bill but the others..." Molly Weasley trailed off, lost in thought.

"I don't know how to care for toddlers," Draco admitted with a look of embarrassment. _Why did I admit that out loud?! Must be the Veritaserum that's still in my system making me blurt stupid shit out loud_. Before the Slytherin could stop himself, he began to blurt out even more, "I don't know what I'm doing. I've just been copying what I've seen mother doing and I can't even do that right."

Weasley snapped out of her reverie and turned towards Draco with a small smile on her face. "You're only fifteen, dear. I would be surprised if you knew the ins and outs of child care!" The woman laughed. "Actually, I would be worried if you _did_ know. Teenage pregnancy isn't really a problem here but it is rampant in the Muggle-world, after all." Draco felt his face warm up, causing the woman to laugh even harder. The mother of seven let out a happy sigh, "don't worry, child. I'll help you with little Estella."

That statement caught Draco's attention. "How? Aren't I being kicked out?"

Molly Weasley frowned. "They are most likely going to let you stay, but in the off-chance that they don't, I will make sure you stay," the redhead said, her voice drenched in determination. "I'm not letting two children, especially one who has suffered as much as yourself, be thrown out into the wild. It's too dangerous!"

"But, would they even listen to you?"

The Weasley matriarch gave Draco a sharp smile that made the teenager shiver. "Don't worry, dear," she said in an overly cheery tone. "I'll make them listen!"

_Note taken! Never get on her bad side!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who aren't familiar with Veritaserum, let me explain why Draco, who has a natural inclination towards Occlumency (even though at this time in the fanfic, he isn't fully trained) was unable to resist it. In the books, they say that when people aren't aware they're under Veritaserum, the potion works better. So, Draco was eventually able to stop himself from talking but at first he couldn't because he didn't know he took Veritaserum. Draco's natural skill in Occlumency becomes a plot point later so I just wanted to explain this scene just in case in the future, people see Draco's Occlumency skills as inconsistent because of this scene.
> 
> Also, for my fellow book readers, I'm planning on having a full redemption arc for Draco. I'm kind of sick and tired of reading fics that blatantly ignore the fact that Draco was a bigoted bully in his youth. Yes, his rude nature can be explained by his upbringing but it's not excusable and I don't want to just gloss over it. It is canon that Draco changes his ways and opinions and in this fic, I want to reflect that! Molly Weasley, Hermione, Lupin, and the Tonk family are going to play huge roles in his redemption so stay tuned!
> 
> The plot should start to pick up soon! I'm using the summer before fifth year chapters to set the stage for various plot points and relationships in this fanfic! I hope y'all don't mind the slow start!


End file.
